The Daughter of Rumpelstiltskin and Belle
by Partypandas00
Summary: What would it be like if Rumple and Belle had had a child. This is a Fan-Fic about Cass who is the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin and Belle. But in Story brook she is Hazel Mills, the daughter of Regina Mills
1. Chapter 1

Writers Note

**Okay guys, so I am like really addicted to the series 'Once Upon a Time' at the moment, and I have made a few videos of it. I then made a AU one about if Rumple and Belle had had a daughter, and I really enjoyed doing that so then I thought why not try and write a Fan-Fic on it, so I just started coming up with ideas and jotting them down. **

If I get a lot of reviews and likes on this story I will continue it, so it's really up to your reviews that will depend on this Fan-Fic carrying on. So please tell me what you think, and if you have any ideas for me please feel free to send them on, I can always use the help

_Fairytale land:_ _Italics_

Storybook: Normal

_As the girl rode on up the road, her horse's hooves galloping on the cobbles, she looked around herself. The leaves where slowly falling from the trees, the air around her was chilly and the birds where flying in groups in the sky, winter was definitely on its way. She came to the edge of the forest and strolled on through the small village that lay on the outskirts, noticing (as she always did) the way people kept their distance from her, she sighed as she kept moving. No one ever wanted to interact with her, it was nothing to do with herself, it was the person she lived with, it was because of this that she had no friends they were all to scared of her_

_She made it through the village and prodded on up the hill, towards the huge house ahead. As she neared, she noticed a black carriage sitting outside the front, frowning the girl jumped down from her horse, and walked on the rest of the way, holding the reins of the horse so he clomped along behind her. She got to the side of the carriage and stopped. It was pretty big and looked very posh and royal, at the front were two, big, black horse's-much bigger than her own anyway, they stood poised and ready to be given orders. The footmen by the carriage were no different, they were both bulk-built and looked extremely strong, and they too stood posed and ready, not moving a mussel, they didn't even blink._

_The girl frowned slightly, still holding onto the reins of her own horse, which was now bending down to eat some grass. Just then the door behind her open and she turned round sharply, her father came strolling out the door in his usual manner, followed by (and the girl could not believe her eyes) the queen herself. The girl stood stock still as the two adults, who were deep in (what the girl guessed was an argument) strolled on over, "I will say nothing more, now we're done!" her father said and then stopped dead when he saw the girl, "Cass?" he said, staring at her "you're earlier dearie" he added, Cass looked towards the queen and then at her father, "it's 7:30 father" she replied, Cass looked from one adult to the other, unsure of what to say, "so, this is your daughter Rumple" the queen said, braking the silence, "lovely to meet you Cassey" she extended her hand, Cass hesitated for a moment then shook it, bowing her head slightly as she did, "lovely to meet you too….Your Majesty" she replied "and its just Cass" she added, the queen dropped her hand and smiled sweetly at the young girl, "Cass, why don't you go take Charlie to the stables" Rumple said briefly, Cass nodded and she bowed her head once more to the queen before walking on with her horse._

_Cass got to the stables and led Charlie back into his Pen, she then made sure he had food and water before heading out the stables and back towards the house. As she got to the front of the house, she could see the carriage moving down the hill, away towards town, Cass ran on over to her father, who was still standing at the door, watching the carriage drive away, "what did she want father?" Cass asked curiously, as she watched also and then looked up at Rumple, he continued to stare straight ahead, "nothing of any interest dearie" he replied. After a moment he finally took his eyes of the road and looked down at his daughter, "I don't want you riding in the forest for a while" he said simply, Cass frowned slightly, confused by this sudden request, "why father?" she asked him, a look of puzzlement shown on her face, "just promise me Cass" he replied, Cass nodded, though she was still very confused, "yes father" _

"Hazel?!"

She woke with a stare as she heard the cry, her head laid upon the desk and when she sat up a piece of paper was stuck to her cheek, with a frown she peeled it off and looked at herself in the computer screen. There was a black smudge, smeared on her cheek, sighing she rubbed franticly with her hand to get rid of it, "HAZEL?!" the voice came again.

With a groan, Hazel got up off the seat and made her way to the door. When she opened it, she gasped and almost fell over in fright finding her mother standing right outside her door, "what?" she said once she'd restrained herself, "have you seen Henry?" she asked a little firmly, which made it sound more of a demand than a question, "not since he left for Archie's" Hazel replied simply, "he's probably still there" Hazel turned back and went to sit at her desk again, Regina followed her in, "I phoned Dr Hopper and he told me Henry didn't turn up for his session" she said, her voice becoming more fiercer with ever word she spoke, Hazel turned her head away and just shrugged, "well, how should I know" she said trying to keep the panic out of her voice, she knew her mother would see through the lies if Hazel made eye contact with her, Regina frowned but she turned and stomped her way back out the room, Hazel peered round towards the door and bit her lip slightly.

Ten minutes later, Hazel found herself downstairs talking with Graham the Sheriff, "did Henry say anything to you earlier?" he asked, Hazel just shook her head, she did this was most of the questions that were thrown at her until after a while she felt that Graham was repeating himself. Eventually they were finished and Hazel got to leave the room, as she passed the front door, she thought she could hear voices on the other side, Hazel frowned and began to walk over, but Regina who had heard too, rushed passed Hazel and wrenched the door open, "Henry?!" she cried, and Hazel saw her run out and bend down in front of a small figure, holding his face. Hazel walked on over to the door, Graham right behind her, she watched as Henry was hugged by Regina but then looked passed him at the women stand a little way behind. She was tall, with long blond hair, and she wore blue jeans, a black round-necked top and a red leather jacket. Hazel stared at the women and then looked round as Regina spoke, "where have you been?" she said worriedly, still holding her Son, "I found my real mom!" Henry retorted back.


	2. Chapter 2

There was an awkward silence then in which time Henry pulled from Regina's hold and ran passed Hazel and Graham and into the house, Hazel watched him go and then looked back at her mother and the women, "your Henry's birth mother?" Regina asked, surprised and shocked, Hazel stared at the women, "Hi" she said rather awkwardly, "I'll go check on Henry" Hazel said, breaking the silence and then turned and wondered back into the house, she then heard footsteps behind her and looking back saw Graham following.

Hazel hurried on upstairs to Henry's room and lightly knocked on the door before going in, "hey" she said seeing Henry sitting on the bed, she walked over and sat beside him putting her arm around her brother, "how you doing?" Hazel asked but before Henry could answer there was a knock on the door and Graham came in, "hey lad, how are you?" he said as he closed the door and walked over, Henry only nodded and said nothing, Hazel could tell that he wasn't in the mood for talking and looked up at Graham, "he's just tired" she explained, Graham nodded, "right, I'll go tell your mother" he replied and then turned and went back out the room, Hazel turned back to Henry, "so…success then?" she said quietly.

_Cass sat at the dinner table, flicking her food over on her fork, pondering with her thoughts, she glanced over at her father at the head of the table and studied him for a moment, she then looked away again before speaking, "what did the queen want father?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as polite and calm as she could, she glanced over at Rumple again, he'd stopped eating and was staring straight ahead, "like I said dearie, nothing of any interest" he said casually, "don't worry about it" Cass looked down, she frowned "but I am" she replied, "she's like a Jinx to this house, every time she comes bad things happen" Cass started running her folk over her plate so it made a scratching sound, "nothing bad will happen Cass" Rumple said, Cass scratched harder on the plate, "you'll see dearie, it will be fine" Cass continued to scratch hard on the plate, she knew it would drive his patience but she hoped it would make him brake and spill everything, "Cass, I won't let anything happen" he said, his voice becoming firmer, Cass scratched as hard as she could so that the plate was almost at braking point, "CASS! STOP THAT!" Rumple yelled and the fork instantly flew out of Cass' hand and struck the wall on the opposite side of the room, Cass lost it also, she pushed her chair back and slammed her hands on the table, "how can you stop things!" she cried "how can you not let things happen! You couldn't help mother!" Cass felt tears stream down her cheeks, without another word she spun round and ran as fast as she could out of the room and towards the front door._

Hazel stayed with Henry until he had fallen asleep, and then she kissed him on the forehead before heading slowly and quietly out of the room, she carefully closed the door behind her and made her way to her own bedroom, "Hazel!" she heard from downstairs just as she got to her door, she sighed, turned around and walked halfway downstairs finding her mother in the hallway, "what?!" she said tiredly as she leaned against the banister, "what did he tell you?!" Regina asked, folding her arms as she did, Hazel sighed "nothing, he wouldn't tell me anything" she replied, Regina frowned, "don't lie to me, I know Henry tells you everything" she replied a little firmer, "yeah well not about this" she sassed back at her mother, "do not take that lip with me" Regina said, "now tell me what he said!" Hazel stared back, her eyes fixed on Regina's "nothing" she said slowly and clearly, Regina still frowned, "fine! Go to your room now!" she ordered, Hazel rolled her eyes and walked back up the stairs, she shut the door and leaned back against it, then slid down to the ground and sighed in relief.

Next morning, Hazel woke up at 7:00am and made her way out of the room and towards the bathroom, just as she got to the door Henry rushed out. He was fully dressed in his uniform and looked ready to go, Hazel frowned "Henry? Its 7oclock, why are you completely ready?" she asked curiously, Henry put his finger to his lips, "shh…you didn't see me alright" he said, confused Hazel nodded and Henry ran to his bedroom and she went on into the bathroom.

Once Hazel was washed, she came out of the bathroom and went back towards her own room, she peered into Henry's room on the way and saw he'd gone, she frowned but walked on to her room. As she was drying her hair in front of the mirror her mother came bursting in, "where's Henry?" she asked firmly, though Hazel could hear nothing over the sound of the hair dryer, Regina snatched it from her and switched it off, "hey!" Hazel cried, staring up at her mother, "where's you brother?!" Regina said again, "how should I know, in his room?" Hazel answered, trying to reach for the hairdryer, Regina frowned and threw the hairdryer onto the bed and went back out the room, Hazel rolled her eyes, picking up the hairdryer she turned it on again and continued to dry her hair.

When she was done, Hazel went downstairs to find Regina in the hallway searching for something in her bag, she soon withdrew her keys from inside and looked round at Hazel, "I'm going to inform the Sheriff, stay here encase anybody calls" she explained, Hazel nodded then turned her head away and rolled her eyes, she watched her mother leave then crept over to the window and watched, she waited until the car had pulled away from the house before dashing over to the sitting room, towards the computer, hastily she powered it up and logged in and when opened up the emails she saw Henry was still logged in, Hazel then highlighted every email on the list and hit delete and they all vanished she then cleared the trash folder, smirking she logged out and shut down the computer, satisfied she got up and went to make herself some breakfast.

About twenty minutes later the front door opened and Regina came in, followed by Graham and the women from last night, Hazel frowned as she walked over into the hall as her mother spoke, "computer's through there" she pointed to the sitting room and then turned to her daughter, "has anyone phoned?" she asked, Hazel shook her head distractively, watching Graham and the women go into the sitting room, Regina went into the room after them and Hazel slowly followed. She watched as the women sat down and powered up the computer, Hazel bit her lip slightly, Regina then signed into the email and they waited, Hazel crossed her fingers behind her back, "smart kid" the women said "he cleared his inbox" Hazel gave a little smirk and sighed softly in relief, "but I'm smart too, little hard disk recovery utility I like to use" the women added, holding up a small pen drive like object, Hazel tensed and bit her lip again as she walked on over so she was standing behind the women, watching "okay….ah here's a receipt for a website, its expensive" the women said as she scrolled through one of the emails, out the corner of her eye Hazel saw Regina come over so she was standing on the other side of Graham, "he has a credit card?" the women asked, Hazel looked from the women to Regina, "he's ten" her mother replied "well he used one" the women said, she then clicked on a link and a new page opened, Hazel's eyes went wide when she saw a name appear on screen, "Mary Margaret Blanchard" the women read and then looked at Regina, Hazel started to back away, slowly "who's that?" the women added, Hazel shifted her eyes towards her mother as she continued to back away, "Henry's teacher" she said sternly, Hazel then turned fully and headed towards the door, "where are you going young lady?" came Regina's firm voice, Hazel stopped and glanced round, trying to come up with a good excuse, "I gotta do something, just remembered" she said, and before anyone could speak Hazel dashed out of the house and up the road.


	3. Chapter 3

_Cass stood in Charlie's Pen, brushing his smooth, soft back, she sighed occasionally as she did so and eventually she felt herself drop down onto an upturned bucket, she put her head in her hands and began to sob quietly, "Cass?" said a voice close by and she looked up suddenly to find her father standing on the outside of the Pen, looking down at her, Cass glanced away again, "I'm sorry father…. I didn't mean what I said" she said guiltily, there was then the sound of the Pen door opening and closing then she felt Rumple sit down beside her, he slowly and gently put his arm around her and Cass broke down, she buried her face into his cloak and felt tears run down her face, Rumple began stroking her hair gently, "hey, none of that" he said softly and Cass looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears, Rumple gently wiped them away and put his hand on her chin, "come on, where's that smile?" he said, and Cass curled her lips up slightly giving him a small smile, "I'm sorry father" she said again, Rumple nodded "it's okay Cass, now come have dinner" he replied, Cass smiled and nodded, "alright, I'm just going to finish brushing Charlie" she said, Rumple nodded "don't be long then" he replied before standing up and walking back out of the Pen and towards the house, Cass took in a long, soft breath and then stood up and continued to brush her horse._

Hazel walked towards the playground and stopped, she stared at the castle like climbing frame and saw a small figure sitting alone, she smiled and went on over, she climbed up the steps and sat down on the edge beside Henry, "thought I'd find you here" she said, Henry said nothing and just stared straight ahead, "your mom's still here" Hazel went on, "she's helping look for you" Henry gave a slow, breath out and still said nothing, "what's her name?" Hazel asked, trying to get something out of Henry, he continued to stare out towards the town, but he did answer, "Emma" he said quietly, Hazel smiled slightly and stared straight ahead also, she sighed a little, "so…why'd you run off this morning?" she asked him curiously, not really expecting an answer, but it came "just wanted to be alone" he replied, Hazel smiled and put her arm around her brother, hugging him gently, they both sat in silence for a while, Hazel then heard the sound of footsteps behind them, she turned her head sharply and saw Emma climbing up onto the castle, she was carrying a book under her arms. Hazel turned her head back round as Emma sat down on the other side of Henry, "you left this in my car" Emma said handing Henry the book, Hazel glanced at it and then looked from Emma to Henry and then she stood up, "I'll leave you two alone" she said, "Henry I'll go give the credit card back" she added and Henry dug his hand into his pocket and took out Mary Margaret's card, Hazel took it "don't worry I'll tell her the truth that I took it" she said and then turned and climbed back down off the castle and headed back towards town.

Once back in town Hazel made her way towards the school, all the kids were in the playground so she guessed it must be recess, as she made her way up to the door a couple of girls came over to her, "hey Hazel, where were you today?" one of the asked, Hazel stopped and turned to them, "my little brother went missing, I helped try find him" she replied, "I'll talk to you later, I've got to go do something" she added quickly and before any of them could say another word Hazel headed on into the school. She walked to the staff room door, knocked and waited, a few minutes later it was answered by one of the teachers who taught the class above her, "hi…. is em Miss Blanchard there?" she asked politely, the teacher nodded and went back into the room, after a couple of seconds Miss Blanchard appeared, "Hazel? Where have you been? I was told you missed all your classes" she said, Hazel glanced down slightly "yeah I…I was helping to find Henry" she said "I just wanted to give you this back" she added and she withdrew the credit card from her pocket, "and it wasn't Henry who took it, it was me" Hazel said still staring at the ground, "I took it for him" Miss Blanchard took the card, "its okay Hazel, I understand" Hazel looked up at her and saw she was smiling, Hazel gave a small smile back "I promise what ever he spent I'll try paying it back, Granny said she might have a job for me at the diner" Hazel said hurriedly, Miss Blanchard still smiled, "Hazel really, its okay" she said, "you don't owe me anything" Hazel smiled gratefully "thanks" she said, Miss Blanchard nodded "run along then" she said, with one last smile Hazel turned and headed on back out of the building.

Later on, once it was getting dark Hazel was making her way back home after spending a long time sitting in Granny's, she often did this as an excuse not to go home, but once closing time came around she knew she had no other choice, as she walked with her head bowed she puzzled with all her thoughts that were whirling around inside her head. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going when she bumped right into someone, "oh sorry I…" she said as she looked up and found Emma standing in front of her, "I'm sorry I was paying attention" Hazel said again, "it's okay" Emma replied, "I was just looking for somewhere I could get a room" she said, Hazel smiled, "try Granny's" she said "it's just down the road, I'll take you there" and without waiting for an answer she turned and lead the way back the way she had come.

They got to 'Granny's Bed and Breakfast' and Hazel went in first, as she did she could here shouting from above, Hazel rolled her eyes slightly and then turned her head towards the stairs as two figures came into view, their voices raise, "when you've both done arguing, you have a customer" Hazel said and both of them stopped, "she'd like a room" she added indicated to Emma who was behind her, Granny rushed on over to the desk, "oh right, of course" she said as she opened up her book, "what's the name?" Swan, Emma Swan" Emma replied, "Emma?" came a voice from behind them, they all turned and saw Mr Gold standing slightly behind Hazel and Emma, "what I lovely name" he added, "thanks" Emma replied, frowning slightly, Hazel moved to the side as Mr Gold came over to the desk, "Hazel? What a surprise to see you here" he said, Hazel kept her eyes down and just shrugged, Granny then broke the tension by holding out a bundle of rolled up notes, "its all here" she said to Mr Gold and he took it from her, "of course it is dear" he replied and he turned to Emma, "enjoy your stay, Emma" he said and then he looked at Hazel, "and give my regards to your mother Hazel" he added and then turned and strolled out, Emma turned to Granny, "who was that?" she asked curiously, "Mr Gold, he owns this place" Ruby said from the door, "the Inn?" Emma asked, "No" Hazel replied, "the town" Granny added.


	4. Chapter 4

Hazel woke next morning and first thing she did was think back over her dream she'd had, it was always the same one; she would be running through a forest and then all of a sudden the setting would change to a dark corridor with a ceil at the far end, when she walked over to it there would be a dark shadowy figure right in the far corner, making it hard to see them properly, a voice from the ceil would then be heard telling her to run but for some reason it would be as if her feet was stuck to the ground, for what ever reason she would not be about to budge from that spot. Then out of nowhere guards would surround her and pull her away from the ceil, tears would then leak from her eyes as she stared towards the figure in the ceil not wanting to take her eyes of it. Then she would wake with a start.

After a couple of minutes Hazel yawned and stretched before getting up and ready for the day ahead. She showered dressed and done her hair then made her way out of the room, as she passed Henry's room she heard voices and stopped to listen. Henry was in the middle of saying "…. stuffs missing, why do you care?" and then Regina replied, "I care because you think that I'm some evil queen, that hurts me Henry. I'm your mother" then Henry said "no your not!" there was pause, "well then who is?" Regina said, "that women you brought?" Hazel listened for a response but Henry said nothing, "I don't like what she or this book is doing to you, thankfully both are no longer an issue" Regina said, there was silence and then Hazel heard footsteps coming towards the door, she gasped and quickly ran on down the stairs and into the kitchen to get breakfast, glancing back she saw Henry go straight to the front door and out.

10 minutes later Hazel finished up her breakfast, she went out the house and walked up the road towards town. As she walked she heard a fainting chiming in the distance, frowning she looked up at the clock and did a double take. The clock was showing that it was 8 o'clock – the right time! Frowning Hazel walked on over so she was right beside the clock tower, there was no mistaken it, the big hand was pointing all the way up at 12 and the little at 8, Hazel continued to stare at it in confusion, 'the clock had never worked for as long she could remember' she thought to herself, "old clock seems to have sorted itself out" came a voice behind her and Hazel gasped as she spun round to find Mr Gold standing there, "yeah…" Hazel replied as she looked back up at the clock "weird…" Hazel could feel Mr Gold staring at her, "where you off to this early Hazel?" he asked curiously, Hazel shrugged still not looking at him "just out for a walk" she replied "before school starts" Hazel glanced round, she was right Mr Gold's eyes was fixed on her, "well why don't you walk with me to my shop?" he said kindly, Hazel shook her head "I'm not going that way…" she replied "I got to go" and without another word she turned and walked on up the road, sensing all the time that Mr Gold was watching her.

She soon made it to 'Granny's' and got herself ready for work; she hung up her school bag and coat up on the cloak then put on an apron, she picked up a pad and pen then went to start serving tables. As Hazel was pouring coffee for one of the costumers the door opened and Emma came in, she walked on over to the counter and took a seat Hazel finished pouring the coffee and went over, "can I get you anything?" she asked politely, Emma looked up and smiled "I'm fine thanks" she replied, Hazel nodded before walking over to collect a couple plates of food and went to serve them.

After a few minutes Ruby went over to Emma with a cup of coco, "here you go!" she said cheerfully, "okay…but I did not order that…" Emma said, confused "yeah I know, you have an admirer" Ruby replied, Emma looked behind her towards on the booth and Hazel saw her Graham sitting on his own, she watched as Emma walked over to him, "ah so you decided to stay" Graham said as Emma stopped in front of him, Hazel smirked slightly and deciding not to eavesdrop she went on back to work.

After taking someone's order and returning to the counter she saw out the corner of her eye Emma leaving the diner with Henry, Hazel turned her head towards the door and watched them go out and smiled slightly before picking up two mugs of coffee and taking them over to one of the booths, the door then opened again and Hazel gasped as she saw her mother walk in, turning her head away she pretended to be wiping down one of the tables, praying Regina didn't spot her, "Hazel?!" a firm voice said beside her, Hazel bit her lip and turned around, Regina was standing a few feet away from her, "what on earth are you doing?!" she asked firmly, Hazel glanced down at the floor "working…" she replied quietly and she could tell Regina's frown had deepened, "work?!" she cried out making almost everyone in the diner turn to look at them, Granny then came over to them, "is there something wrong?" she asked curiously, Hazel glanced up at Granny and then at Regina, "why on earth would you let my daughter work here, she's only 13!?" Granny frowned "she brought a letter with your permission, so as long as I have the parents consent…" Granny start but was cut off, "letter?! What letter?!" she exclaimed, then looked at Hazel who had gone back to staring at the floor, saying nothing, "Hazel?!" Regina said warningly. Finally Hazel looked up, feeling every mussel in her body tense up, she was fit to explode any moment, "why would I ask for your permission?!" she cried, letting all her frustration out "you never let me do anything!" she looked Regina straight in the eyes then turned towards Granny, "I'm sorry Granny, but you don't know what its like with her" she said and then looked round the diner at everyone, who were now staring at them, "none of you do!" and before anyone could speak or stop her, Hazel tore off her apron and ran out the door and up the street.

_"Do you have to go father?" Cass whined as she watched Rumple prepare himself for work, "its all part of the job Cass" he replied, looking round at her and Cass looked down at the floor, "its not fair!" she moaned "sometimes I wish you weren't 'The Dark One' and you were just my father" she looked back up "how long will you be away this time?" she asked, Rumple gave a small smile, "hopefully not long" he replied, "this one should be a small job dearie" he then knelt down in front of her, "now remember what I've told you" he said in a more serious voice, Cass nodded "stay out of the forest" she replied, Rumple nodded "good, why don't you go into the village and play with the other children?" he said to her, Cass gave a small smile, "yeah…maybe…" she said half heartedly, Rumple then stood up and touched Cass' head lightly, "see you soon" Cass said, trying to sound cheerful, Rumple gave a last nod and in the blink of an eye he was gone._

_Cass wondered about the house, trying to think of something to do. In the end she decided just to go out on her horse. She made her way to the stables and over to Charles' pen and set him up with saddle and rein, then took him outside. They got to the front of the house and Cass heaved herself up onto his back, she then gave him a little kick and they were off. She rode on down into the village and looked around for something to occupy her, she then spotted a group of children nearby playing with a ball, Cass trotted on over, she stopped a little way off and slid down off her horse and walked the rest of the way, as she did the children all stopped playing and looked round at her, Cass smiled "hi" she said "can I play with you?" the children all looked at one another then the tallest boy spoke up, "we've already got enough people" he said simple, "well I could be like a reserve or something" Cass replied, hopefully "sorry, we don't need one" the boy said before turning away with the others and played on, Cass sighed softly and walked on back to Charlie, she climbed back onto him and rode on._

_She trotted on around the village feeling very bored and alone; she soon came to the edge of the forest. Cass stared into the trees and began to puzzle over her fathers request, 'why would he all of a sudden forbid her from going into here' she thought, she looked down at her horse, "what do you think?" she said and then looked back into the trees, "I've been in here plenty of times and nothings happened" after a moment she gently kicked Charlie and led him on into the trees. She was soon deep in the forest, after a bit she stopped in the middle of the road and slid down onto the ground and let Charlie eat some grass at the edge of the road, Cass then stared up ahead and saw a huge, black carriage approaching. It then came to a halt right in front of Cass and the door opened. There sitting poised in her seat was the queen, she smiled sweetly as Cass "hello there, Cass isn't it?" she said, Cass nodded "yes, your majesty" she replied, she bowed her head slightly to the queen, still holding onto the reins of her horse, "lovely to see you again Cass dear" the queen said kindly, and Cass gave a slight smile, "you too, your majesty" she said in response as politely as she could, "so where are you off to?" the queen asked, Cass hesitated for a moment then said, "just…out for a ride, your majesty" the queen nodded, there was a pause then before the queen spoke again, "how would you like to come back with me to my palace?" she said "I always have tea prepared for my return and there is always far to much for one" Cass glanced away for a moment thinking and then looked back, "I'm not sure my fath…I mean I wouldn't want to intrude" she said and the queen gave a gentle laugh "nonsense, you'd be my honored guest" she replied, Cass bit her lip slightly and then gave a smile and nodded, "that would be nice" she said, the queen smiled "wonderful, climb back onto your horse and you can follow the carriage" Cass nodded, she then pulled herself back onto Charlie and began to follow the queens carriage._


End file.
